British ambassador on Russia's slow advance: "Snail advanced faster"
Photo: British Ambassador to Ukraine Neil Crompton (RBC-Ukraine)
Russian occupation forces are suffering enormous losses in eastern Ukraine, while the real pace of their advance has turned out to be slower than a snail, British Ambassador to Ukraine Neil Crompton said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Russia's massive losses in the east
According to the diplomat, an exhausting war is continuing in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk region, where Ukrainian forces are inflicting extremely heavy losses on Russian troops.
Based on data from chiefs of staff that the ambassador reviewed, the losses among Russian forces have been as follows:
- April and May: around 35,000 people per month.
- July: 42,700 killed or seriously wounded.
"I think the number was a bit lower in June. When the foliage comes out, it's a little bit safer for soldiers to move around. But that's extraordinary. If I google Soviet casualties in the war in Afghanistan, it says that 15,000 people were killed," Crompton said.
The real pace of Russia's advance
Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims that Russian forces are advancing rapidly, the reality on the battlefield is the opposite, the diplomat told RBC-Ukraine.
"Our former chief of defence staff once said that a snail has actually advanced faster than Russian armed forces. And this is coming at a huge cost," he said.
Impact of Ukrainian strikes on Crimea
The British diplomat stressed that the real major change on the battlefield is the growing effectiveness of Ukraine's medium- and long-range strikes.
"Like mid-strike operations in Crimea. President Putin has had to declare a state of emergency. Russian holidaymakers are not going to Crimea. People are having to move out. It's causing real damage to the military supply lines," Crompton said.
In his view, Crimea is important to both Ukraine and Russia, although for different reasons. But for Russia, it is the "jewel in the crown" of the war.
"So I think that's politically difficult for Moscow. And as we've seen from the news, none of this is secret," the diplomat concluded.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed how many Russian troops Ukraine eliminated in July, including through the use of FPV drones.
RBC-Ukraine also examined whether Moscow could launch a new mobilization amid its heavy losses in the article "Putin's ballistic terror could be his own trap — is a truce possible this year?"
